The Mount Holly, New Jersey office of the National Weather Service has confirmed additional tornadoes from Saturday’s outbreak and says more may be confirmed as they continue storm survey studies around New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. At least five tornadoes have been confirmed in New Jersey as of now, with tornadoes impacting Cinnaminson, Delran, Moorestown, Jackson, Howell, and Sea Girt. The National Weather Service is investigating other potential tornado damage in Crosswicks, Cream Ridge, and Mays Landing. The National Weather Service has also confirmed tornadoes touched down in Pennsylvania and Delaware, impacting Wrightstown Township and Newtown in Pennsylvania and Bridgeville and Ellendale in Delaware.
The National Weather Service has also confirmed that there was a destructive downburst around Palmyra and Riverton, New Jersey during the severe weather outbreak. Strong downburst winds across parts of Palmyra, Riverton, and Cinnaminson preceded the tornado that formed and impacted the the area between Cinnaminson and Moorestown. According to the National Weather Service, numerous trees were uprooted or snapped beginning near the intersection of East Broad Street and Elm Avenue on the Palmyra border. Because all trees fell in a east-southeasterly direction, they were able to rule out that a tornado was responsible for that damage. The downburst damaged properties and trees in a 1 mile long, 616 yard wide path with estimated 90-100 mph winds.
Because of so many damage reports from tornadic thunderstorms on Saturday, the National Weather Service needs additional time to complete there storm surveys and analysis. A full report on all of the tornadoes should be out sometime this week.
At this time, the Delaware tornado was the only one that resulted in a fatality. That tornado touched down near Tucker Road in Greenwood, destroying many homes. A man died when the house he was in collapsed from the tornado. This death is the first death from a tornado in Delaware since 1983.
According to the Delaware Emergency Management Agency, the tornado cut a 14 mile path of destruction from Bridgeville to Ellendale with widespread damage reported throughout western Sussex County. Preliminary assessments show at least 2-3 dozen homes impacted by the tornado.
